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Pattern similarity and connectivity of hippocampal-neocortical regions support empathy for pain.

ABSTRACT: Empathy is thought to engage mental simulation, which in turn is known to rely on hippocampal-neocortical processing. Here, we tested how hippocampal-neocortical pattern similarity and connectivity contributed to pain empathy. Using this approach, we analyzed a data set of 102 human participants who underwent functional MRI while painful and non-painful electrical stimulation was delivered to themselves or to a confederate. As hypothesized, results revealed increased pattern similarity between first-hand pain and pain empathy (compared to non-painful control conditions) within the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, the temporo-parietal junction and anterior insula. While representations in these regions were unaffected by confederate similarity, pattern similarity in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was increased the more dissimilar the other individual was perceived. Hippocampal-neocortical connectivity during first-hand pain and pain empathy engaged largely distinct but neighboring primary motor regions, and empathy-related hippocampal coupling with the fusiform gyrus positively scaled with trait measures of perspective taking. These findings suggest that shared representations and mental simulation might contribute to pain empathy via hippocampal-neocortical pattern similarity and connectivity, partially affected by personality traits and the similarity of the observed individual.

SUBMITTER: Wagner IC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7235961 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundPrevious neuroimaging studies have extensively demonstrated many signs of functionally spontaneous local neural activity abnormalities in bipolar disorder (BD) patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). However, how to identify the changes of voxel-wise whole-brain functional connectivity pattern and its corresponding functional connectivity changes remain largely unclear in BD patients. The current study aimed to investigate the voxel-wise changes of functional connectivity patterns in BD patients using publicly available data from the UCLA CNP LA5c Study.MethodsA total of 45 BD patients and 115 healthy control subjects were finally included and whole-brain functional connectivity homogeneity (FcHo) was calculated from their rs-fMRI. Moreover, the alterations of corresponding functional connectivity were subsequently identified using seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis.ResultsIndividuals with BD exhibited significantly lower FcHo values in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) when compared with controls. Functional connectivity findings further indicated decreased functional connectivities between left MTG and cluster 1 (left superior temporal gyrus, extend to middle temporal gyrus, rolandic operculum), cluster 2 (right postcentral, extend to right precentral) in BD patients. The mean FcHo values of left MTG were positively correlated with insomnia, middle scores and appetite increase scores. The mean functional connectivities of left MTG to cluster 1 were negatively correlated with grandiose delusions scores. While the functional connections between left MTG with cluster 2 were negatively correlated with delusions of reference and positively correlated with insomnia, middle scores in BD patients.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that abnormal FcHo and functional connections in those areas of the brain involving DMN and SMN networks might play a crucial role in the neuropathology of BD.

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Pattern similarity and connectivity of hippocampal-neocortical regions support empathy for pain.

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